A graduate of Ohio University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors in history, Richard
Mason was the owner and publisher of Land Rig Data Newsletter, considered to be the standard in
its industry. Mason researched and documented Rig counts, rig owners, service industry information,
and necessary technical data for each issue. He published his first issue in October 1992, but
many of his subscribers were located in the World Trade Center towers in New York City. As a result
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Land Rig Data Newsletter lost most of its subscriber base and
therefore was finally sold to Rig Data in August 2009. As a publisher, Mason developed metrics that
provided greater transparency to the formerly opaque U.S. onshore drilling services market and
regularly used these industry analyses as an oil and gas consultant, and as Oil Services Specialty
at Well Site Market Research. These metrics provided high-resolution perspective on the land rig
drilling market, including regional rig utilization, rig pricing, technological evolution in
drilling systems, and rig employment patterns by operator. His industry research, publications, and
insight were seen as the industry standard, which remains true today. As of 2011 he worked for Hart
Energy, and just prior to that he served as director of research at Houston-based PLS Inc., an oil
and gas property brokerage and publishing firm. Lastly, he was an accomplished writer and this
collection includes his published notes and contributions toward a literary work entitled:“Le
Corbusier and The Riddle at Ronchamp”, which was authored by Robert Coombs, a long time business
associate.

The collection contains issues of the Land Rig newsletter as well as a number of other associations’ oil
industry publications. Also included are: research notes and related material such as survey information
and government publications and documents; investment information; news publications; conference
presentations and related material; financial material; maps; periodicals; correspondence; and literary
material related to his work with Robert Coombs.

Organization

The collection is organized by the following series:
Research, Land Rig Data Newsletters, personal and professional correspondence, architectural and geological
papers, Industry associations with a compilation of Oil Industry service companies, owners and technologies
of drilling and research of the day.